travelogue
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This is the 2009 Winter edition of the Travelogue a publication of Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY.TRANSCRIPT
Travelogue winter 2010
1 Travelogue winter 2010
Editor-in-ChiEf
Bobby Gilles
Managing Editor
Kristen Miller
art dirECtor
Dan Canales
dEsign dirECtion & graphiC dEsign
Ricky Irvine (dressedinvalue.com)
Contributing Editors
Beth Crouser, Wes Crouser
Contributing WritErs
Erin Ferguson, Nate Jones, Laura Roberts
Contributing photographErs & artists
Dan Canales, Sarah Hall, Paige Stettler
gEnEral inquiriEs
baCk issuEs
sojournchurch.com
offlinE
930 Mary Street
Louisville, KY 40204
502.635.7053
onlinE
sojournchurch.com
travelblog.sojournchurch.com
sojournkids.com
seed.sojournchurch.com
sojournmusic.com
sojournvisualarts.com
the930.org
Travelogue is a ministry of
Sojourn Community Church
in Louisville, Kentucky.
2
An Advent Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Sojourn Learner Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Gospel Ambition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
s o j o u r n o f f i C EAudra [email protected]
o p E r at i o n sBryce [email protected]
f i n a n C E sJon [email protected]
C o M M u n i C at i o n sBobby [email protected]
M u lt i M E d i aSmitty [email protected]
C o M M u n i t y g r o u p sMike [email protected]
C o n n E C t i n g M i n i s t r yJon [email protected]
s o j o u r n k i d s ( C h i l d r E n ’ s M i n i s t r y )Jared Kennedy & Kelsey [email protected]
W o M E n ’ s M i n i s t r yKaren [email protected]
q u E s t s t u d E n t s ( h i g h s C h o o l ) Lachlan & Terri Coffey
q u E s t s t u d E n t s ( M i d d l E s C h o o l ) Gary Almon
s o j o u r n p l ay g r o u pLisa [email protected]
p r ay E r M i n i s t r yBen [email protected]
s o j o u r n i n t E r n at i o n a l ( M i s s i o n s )Michael [email protected]
s E E d / b E n E v o l E n C ENathan [email protected]
W o r s h i p & a r t s ( M u s i C )Pastor Mike [email protected]
v i s u a l a r t sMichael & Mickie [email protected]
C r E at i v E W r i t i n g f o r u M sKristen [email protected]
t h E 9 3 0 a r t g a l l E r yMichael & Mickie [email protected]
Sojourn ministry pathways
Table of contents
3 Travelogue winter 2010
Popular philosophy encourages us to live fully in the present. “Be in the
now,” spiritually-enlightened Hollywood tells us. I find myself quite
attracted to this idea, but the truth is we are a future-oriented people.
Whether that’s based on hope or fear or something in between, we can’t
escape it. As creatures living far from home, our being screams for some-
where, something, some time else. We are waiting for the present to
become the past and for the future to become the present. Or we’re
futilely wishing for the past to come around again.
We are waiting, and we don’t like it a bit.
A C T i v e W A i T i n g
An Advent Meditationby Erin Ferguson
4
But how we view this potentially uncom-
fortable chapter is vital to the story we’re
living. And what we expect to find at the
end greatly affects how we live today.
Every year around this time, I read an article
by Henri Nouwen which reminds me that all of
the figures appearing on the first pages of Luke’s
Gospel are waiting: Zechariah and Elizabeth,
Mary, Simeon and Anna. But this seemingly
static scene has an opening line that changes
everything. A messenger of the Lord tells them,
“I have something good to say to you.” And now
they are waiting with expectation and with
hope.
In the same way, we know what we are waiting
for. Ultimately, we wait on Christ’s return and
a new, glorious kingdom. But even daily, we
wait for Him as we approach His throne in
humility with our requests and praise. We wait
to see Him work in our lives and in the lives of
those around us. We wait expectantly because
He is faithful to His promises. We wait with hope
because He is perfect Goodness and Love. And
we wait with longing because this world is a
terribly sad excuse for home sweet home.
Advent is defined as an “arrival that has been
awaited (especially of something momentous).”
Christians celebrate it as a reminder of the orig-
inal waiting for the birth of our Messiah, as well
as our current waiting for the second coming of
Christ. Beginning four Sundays before Christmas
and ending on Christmas day, Advent marks the
start of the liturgical year for the Western
church.
As Protestants in the West, we have often
watched this sacred observance fade behind the
ritual festivities of the holiday season. Many of
us had colorful calendars filled with candy that
we made in Sunday School as children. And even
as we’ve grown older, the sentimental events
and inharmonious rounds of “Joy to the World”
have done their part to make certain we don’t
leave off the “Merry” before Christmas.
However, it wasn’t until the 6th century that
Christians in Rome linked this season to the
coming of Christ. And it was not until the middle
ages that the church began using this time to
celebrate Christ’s birth. In fact, in the 4th and 5th
centuries, Advent was commemorated in much
the same way as Lent. Gaul and Spain used the
time as a preparation for Epiphany,1 which
occurs in early January. At that time, Epiphany
was set aside for new Christians to be baptized
and welcomed into the church. Therefore, the
preceding season of Advent was to be spent
examining hearts and doing penance.
If you grew up with traditional advent candles
and wreaths, you might have seen them dressed
in purple and pink. Purple is the traditional color
of the season, representing repentance and
royalty, and it ties itself to Holy Week as the
Lenten color for suffering. The pink candle is lit
on the third Sunday2 and represents joy and
feasting.
Today, Eastern churches (Catholic and
Orthodox) continue to observe the time much
like they do for Lent. Their liturgical year begins
September 1, and mid-November begins the
Nativity Fast, which looks in practice much like
the fast before Easter.
Although we don’t choose to encourage a
corporate fast, Sojourn has always sought to
honor this time in a way that speaks of joyful
anticipation to the flock while steering boldly
away from the trite and trinket. While we sing
with joy, we also mourn. In an article3 preceding
last year’s Advent season, Worship Arts Pastor
Mike Cosper wrote,“We stand with a foot in two
worlds – the already of the Cross and Resurrec-
tion, and the not yet of Jesus’ return and our own
resurrections. It is in this shadowy not yet, this
longing for the light of the world that Advent
has its deepest meaning.”
The holiday season revolves around the senses:
smell, sight, taste and sound. Most of us have
been trained in “the real reason for the season”
anti-commerciality bit. But we don’t have to
play the parts of bored and holy church people
dutifully dusting off the old nativity set for the
sake of religion. Instead, Advent encourages us
to posture ourselves physically, mindfully, and
even sensually in order to receive the gift of
Christ.
This upcoming season, Sojourn will use songs4
and liturgy to reflect these themes and further
draw us in to reflection. As noted in Calvin Insti-
tute’s Worship Sourcebook, Christian worship
services during Advent should reveal a visible
tension tension between celebrating and
hoping.
“The Gospels need not be the only required reading
we have throughout this time. The entirety of Scrip-
ture points to Christ’s coming to us, in the past, in
the future, and today.
Read the prophets. Imagine what it was like to be
captive under the tyranny of evil rulers and hear the
words, ‘The days are coming when I will fulfill the
gracious promise I made to the house of Israel.’5
Consider the pain and injustice that reigns today
and pray through the Psalms that the Lord will
‘defend the cause of the weak and fatherless and
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.’6 Bow
in fearful awe when remembering the One who ‘will
judge the living and the dead.’7 Rejoice with Zepha-
niah and sing, ‘The Lord has taken away our
punishment, he has turned back our enemy. The Lord,
the King of Israel is with us; never again will we fear
any harm.’8”9
In Luke chapter 1, verse 39, Mary visits Eliza-
beth and Elizabeth’s baby “leaps in her womb.”
This was an affirmation that something was
happening. Suddenly they were supported and
encouraged in their waiting. They could remind
each other it was worth it, and celebrate together
the hope they had been given. We daily need
that same reminder.
Mike Cosper advises pastors not to be afraid
to disappoint their congregations with the
humble, hype-less themes of the season, and
we can remember this as we worship together
in view of the outside world. He presses us to
“show them that the impulse that drives them to
spend and feast is rooted in a deep dissatisfaction
and thirst that only the Messiah can quench.
Invite them into the aching, longing emotion of
the prophets, plant their feet deeply in the
suffering and injustice of the world around us,
and cry out with one voice, ‘O come, O come
Emmanuel.’”
Godly waiting is active. It involves prayer and
work and preparation. Our hearts are not stale
when we make them a dwelling place for our
Creator. Our hands will not fall asleep when they
are busy with healing and harvesting. Our minds
resist complacency and frivolity when we stay
them on the holiness and passion of our
God-man.
We are a motley crew of sinners repenting of
blind eyes and lazy hearts; a company of beloved
children anticipating the ultimate Gift; a weary
assembly of saints reminding each other He still
has something good to say to us. Let us be
thankful for what has been as we wait in antic-
ipation for what is to come, trusting our God
together this Advent season.
1 Epiphany means “to show” or “to make known.” In
Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise
men bringing gifts to the Christ Child.
2 The third Sunday of Advent is referred to as “Gaudete
Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice.”
3 This and additional articles can be found on www.
sojournmusic.com. The one referenced here is entitled
“An Advent Challenge from Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor
Mike Cosper: Disappoint People.” Other articles include
resources for celebrating at home, including activities
for small children and examples of prayers and
confessions that may be used.
4 Sojourn has a CD entitled “Advent Songs” that will be a
resource for some of the songs we will sing. Learn more
about it at www.sojournmusic.com.
5 Jeremiah 33:14-16
6 Psalm 82:3
7 2 Timothy 4:1-8
8 Zephaniah 3:14-20
9 The Worship Sourcebook, Calvin Institute
5 Travelogue winter 2010
S o j o u r n L e A r n e r g r o u p S
Anticipating Christ Together
by Laura Roberts
6
“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility … And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.”
—EphEsians 2:14, 17
“We are far more different from God than we are from each other.”
—REbEcca DEnnison
The miracle of Advent is, in a sense, also the
mission of Sojourn’s group life. In this
season of anticipation, we celebrate the
Savior who crossed an incalculable distance to
reconcile his people to God and to one another.
And we reflect and experience that reconciliation
when we live life together.
That’s why, several months ago, our elders sat
down and brainstormed a way to enable more
Sojourners to get involved with group life. “A
lot of people,” Sojourn elder Chad Lewis said,
“couldn’t fit into the demographic of the Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday community group.
They always worked second shift, or they were
just in a different season of life that made it hard.
There are two philosophies of group life that
we’re working with: one, you create opportuni-
ties and let people fit into them. And two, you
listen to people’s hearts and respond to them.”
The product of that brainstorming session?
Learner groups.
“The whole reason [learner groups] came about
was that we were trying to find other avenues
for people to get in group life. Community groups
are still the main component for group life at
Sojourn,” Chad says, “But the definition of
learner groups is really broad. It’s still about
doing life together, but it can look a lot of
different ways – an apologetics-based study. A
seeker study. Stuff for people struggling with
doubt or going through hard times. Theology
and doctrine.”
The bottom line, though, says Chad, “is just
to foster gospel community and gospel relation-
ships. We just want to create more avenues for
that to happen in people’s lives.”
So what does a learner group look like in prac-
tice? Rebecca Dennison leads a women’s theology
group on Saturday mornings. They’ve been
working through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic
Theology a section at a time for a few, and new
sessions will be offered every few months. It’s a
particularly intense learner group, and one that
has already produced benefits for the ladies
involved. “Going through the doctrine of God,”
Rebecca says, “just affects everything! This
theology really works its way in everywhere.”
And it’s not just information, she insists. “We’re
learning to think about God. And my thinking
about God has just become sharper and clearer.
It’s kind of like learning to dance – there’s a
difference between flailing and learning to
execute. We’re learning to execute.”
The women in the group have been able “to
hear people’s joy and testimony of their experi-
ences reading the Scriptures. Hebrews 5:14 says,
‘But solid food is for the mature, for those who
have their powers of discernment trained by
constant practice to distinguish good from evil.’
We are training ourselves to distinguish good and
evil,” Rebecca says.
Learner groups give Sojourners a chance to dig
deep into God’s word, addressing needs and
struggles in community. What is needed now,
says Chad Lewis, is for many more leaders to step
up and commit to guiding a learner group. “We
can’t flood people into groups that don’t exist.”
If you have a vision for a new learner group, he
says, “come and sit with me and make a pitch.
Grab me between services on Sunday. If you have
it on your heart to lead a learner group, there’s
a process for you to do that.”
Making room for more people to experience
group life is what learner groups are all about.
We want more people to know the joy of living
this ordinary Christian life in community with
other believers, because in community we are
reminded of the Gospel, and we live out the
Gospel.
Author and theologian A.W. Tozer looks at the
eternal nature of God and says, “The mind looks
backward in time till the dim past vanishes, then
turns and looks into the future till thought and
imagination collapses from exhaustion: and God
is at both points, unaffected by either.” As Chris-
tians, we live in a unique time-between-the-times:
we look back through history and see our infinite
and eternal Savior stepping into time and space
to redeem a people for himself. We look forward
by faith to our Savior’s return to put all creation
in order. The season of Advent reminds us both
of the mystery of the eternal God putting on
human flesh and of the joy that awaits God’s
people as we anticipate his return together.
If you are interested in leading a learner group,
contact Chad Lewis at [email protected].
7 Travelogue winter 2010
g o S p e L A m b i T i o n
Acts 29 comes to Sojournby Nate Jones
Gospel encounter
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”—MatthEw 13:44, EsV
Do you remember when you first discovered the
gospel? I happened to be minding my own busi-
ness, enjoying a doughnut with two friends as
they bantered back and forth about the gospel.
Curiosity outweighing my appetite, I threw out
one question after another until they all fell silent
before the fresh new ideas set before me. Sitting
there with a blank stare, just long enough to give
my friends concern, the main idea of the gospel
began to connect in my mind and heart. My
man-centered world was crumbling, and I felt
a wounding need for a Redeemer bigger than
myself. That night, I returned to my dorm room
simply enamored with the gospel. I kept telling
people that it was as if I had taken a bite of juicy
sirloin for the first time and couldn’t help being
overwhelmed with joy. I vividly recall wanting
to laugh out loud, weep with sorrow and lock
the door till I had read the whole Bible to discover
more of what Jesus had accomplished in my
place. I became a Christian that afternoon.
As we strive to be a gospel-centered commu-
nity, we aim to encounter God through news
that really has the power to resurrect. The gospel
holds this power for the Christian life.
Gospel ambition
“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known.” —RoMans 15:20, niV
I love to read Paul’s letters to the church. His
tone is full of heartache, longing and a radical
flavor of words that plead with us to give our
lives for the sake of the gospel. It was ambition
for the supremacy of Christ among all the peoples
of the world that spurred him, leaving us a prime
example of a missionary church-planter in
action. Paul’s ambition led him into expected
suffering and loss – into cities such as Athens
brimming with idolatry and mere religion in
which Satan roamed – to proclaim the resur-
rected Christ. Listen to and consider the suffering
Paul endured to fulfill his God-given calling to
preach the gospel where Christ was not
known:
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes
minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once
I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent
a night and a day in the open sea, I have been
constantly on the move. I have been in danger from
rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my
own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at
sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored
and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have
known hunger and thirst and have often gone without
food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything
else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all
the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, niV
8
Where did Paul find the ambition to plant the
gospel amidst incredible danger? It has to be the
value of the gospel message he discovered. Much
like the exuberance expressed on PBS’s Antiques
Roadshow as apparent junk is instantly trans-
posed into treasure before your eyes, the gospel
will appear more like an absurd assertion or
empty religious rhetoric unless God gives the
capacity to experience and trust this claim –
namely, that God himself has come to save us
from our sin.
Paul understood that gospel that he proclaimed
as, “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephe-
sians 3:8, NIV). The gospel is valuable because it
reconciles us to God, who is the priceless trea-
sure. Paul was compelled by the bottomless
riches of the resurrected Christ to endure every
obstacle and to take the gospel into Christ-less
cultures with self-sacrificing ambition. This
Christ-controlled perspective and selfless service
is something we should all yearn for and is some-
thing that we desperately need to thrive as gospel
missionaries.
Gospel churches
“…to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known…” —EphEsians 3:9-10, EsV
When the gospel is planted, the church grows.
We must consider the role of the church as we
endeavor to plant the gospel in people’s lives.
God’s design is far more glorious than a heap of
self-governed and stagnant people. God’s
wisdom is displayed to the world through the
church as a home for sinners led by a mighty,
sinless Redeemer – Christ himself. The church
is a gathering of imperfect people, who have
encountered the gospel and are experiencing
God’s grace.
Sojourn, as a church, is centered around
unveiling the gospel through word and deed,
which Ephesians 3:10 tells us is the very “wisdom
of God” acted out to our neighbors and city. If
we are to keep the gospel central in our life as a
church, then we must be serious about equipping
and sending out church-planters whose hearts
resemble that of the Apostle Paul. This is a distin-
guishing mark of a gospel-centered church.
Gospel movement
Sojourn is not alone in this mission; we belong
to Acts 29, which is a thriving church-planting
network. It’s a re-surging, church-planting
movement that is experiencing healthy growth.
As a whole, the network desires to plant 1,000
churches over the next ten years all across the
U.S. and around the world. This movement is not
really new, but is instead a continuing work of
what Jesus initiated with his sending word:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew
28:19-20, niV
In other words, Acts 29 is a network of like-
minded, church-planting churches that share
the same vision of bringing people to know Jesus
through the gospel. This movement not only
believes that church planting is biblical, but that
it is an effective means of obeying the great
commission.
Sojourn will host the first regional Acts 29 boot
camp, entitled “Ambition,” on November 10 and
11, and all who are involved with church-planting
or just curious about gospel-centered church-
planting are strongly encouraged to register. One
gift of the “Ambition” boot camp will be the
wealth of wisdom from the pastors and teachers
scheduled to speak: Matt Chandler, Steve Timmis,
Ed Stetzer, Darrin Patrick, Dave Harvey, Scott
Thomas, Kevin Cawley, Bob Thune, Daniel Mont-
gomery and more. Excuse the name drop, but
even if you have never heard of these men or
how far their influence reaches, you will be
blessed by what they teach, because “Ambition”
will be saturated with the gospel word. God is
using these men to fan the flame of God-given
ambition around the world so that able men,
who are called and equipped by God, might go
out from among us to preach the gospel where
Christ has not been named. So come and join us
for “Ambition,” and catch a passion for gospel-
centered church-planting.
9 Travelogue winter 2010
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